(34) Victory over Jericho

 

Now the gates of Jericho were shut

because they heard what God had done

for Israelites along the way,

so they were afraid.

 

There was no way to in or out.

 

But God said to Joshua,

"I have given you Jericho,

Now listen, have your army to march

around the city once a day for 6 days.

On the 7th day, march around the city 7 times,

with priest blowing the horns.

When you hear the priests long blast on the horns,

have all Israelites shout.

Then the walls of the city will fall down,

and then conquer the city."

 

Joshua and Israelites did everything as God instructed.

 

On 7th day, after marched around the city 7 times,

they shouted as loud as they could.

 

and suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed,

and Israelites captured the city.

 

Everything was destroyed.

But Joshua spared Rehab who helped and protected 2 spies before.

 

God was with Joshua,

and his name became famous throughout the land.

 

(33) Crossing the Jordan River

 

Now Joshua and all the Israelites had to cross the Jordan River

to get to the land God had given them.

 

When they arrived at the banks of the Jordan River,

they camped there for 3 days.

 

At the end of 3rd day,

 

Joshua told the people,

 

"Purify yourselves,

God will do great wonders among you.

Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and

lead the people across the river."

 

Then God told Joshua,

 

"Today I will make you great in the eyes of Israelites,

they will see that I am with you as I was with Moses.

Instruct your priests, who are carrying the Ark, 

to take a few steps into the river and stop."

 

Now it was the harvest season,

the Jordan river was overflowing.

 

But as soon as the priest had set his foot into the river,

the water began piling up, and

the water below flowed on to the Dead Sea.

 

Then all the people crossed over near the city of Jericho.

 

(32) Joshua son of Nun

 

After the death of Moses,

God spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses's Assistant.

 

"Now that Moses is dead,

I charge you to lead my people Israelites into the land I am giving them.

Be strong and courageous,

for I will be with you as I was with Moses.

Obey all the laws Moses gave you, and

you will be successful in everything you do."

 

Joshua then summoned the leaders of Israel and said,

 

"Have Israelites to get their provisions ready.

We will cross the Jordan River and

take the land God has given us."

 

Joshua then, discreetly, sent out 2 spies into the land

to spy out the land, especially around Jericho.

 

The 2 spies came back and reported to Joshua

"God will surely give us the land.

All the people in the land are scared of us"

 

 

 

(31) The death of Moses

 

It's been 38 years since the Isrealites left the wilderness of Sinai.

The old generation that did not trust in God had passed away.

However, the new generation was about to enter the land

where God had promised to give them.

 

Now they had arrived at the plains of Moab.

 

And God showed Moses the whole land(Canaan),

and said to him,

 

"This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob. I have now allowed you to see it,

but you won't enter the land."

 

So Moses died there in the land of Moab just as God had said.

Moses was 120 years old when he died.

 

There was never been another prophet like Moses

who met God face to face.

 

 

 

(30) The bronze snake

 

Israelites were taking the road to the Red sea

to go around the land of Edom.

 

However, as always, Israelites grew impatient against God and Moses.

They began to grumble.

 

"Why have you brought us out of Egypt?"

"There is nothing to eat and nothing to drink!"

"We're sick of eathing this manna everyday!"

 

and God sent poisnous snakes among them,

and so many of them were bitten and died.

 

Then Israelites came to Moses and begged,

 

"We have sinned by speaking against God,

please, pray to God to take away these snakes."

 

Moses prayed for the Israelites.

 

Then God instucted Moses to make a replica of a

poisnous snake and hang it on the top of a pole.

 

and also commanded Moses to have people look at the snake

for they will be healed simply by looking at it.

 

Moses did as God instucted him,

and Whenever those who were bitten looked at the bronze snake,

they were healed.

 

(29) 12 scouts explore Canaan

 

After the census, the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle of the Covenant.

So Isrealites left the wilderness of Sinai and

traveled until the could stopped.

 

God said to Moses,

 

"Send 12 leaders from each tribes to explore the land of Canaan,

the land I promised to give to Israel."

 

So Moses did as God commanded him.

 

They went up and explored the land.

 

After 40 days of exploring, they returned  to Moses.

 

The frist 10 men reported,

 

"The land is great, it is certainly a magnificent place,

but the people living there are so tall and powerful, and they are

covered by strong fortresses.

They are stronger than us,

we are like grasshoppers to them. 

we cannot go against them."

 

But Joshua and Caleb reported otherwise,

 

"Let's go at once to conquer the land,

if God is pleased with us,

we can surely do it!"

 

Then the whole Israelites splited into 2 groups,

one who trusted and followed God and Moses, and

the other who listened what other 10 men had reported.

 

Then God punished those who did not trust in God

by making them wander in wilderness for 40 years.

 

 

(28) Israel's Census

 

One day in midspring,

during the 2nd year after Israel's leaving from Egypt,

God spoke to Moses in the Tabernacle.

 

"Take a census of the whole community of Israel.

List the names of all the men 20 years old or older who could battle."

 

God also said to Moses,

 

"Do not include the tribe of Levi from the census;

put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant."

 

So the Israelites did everything just as God had instructed them.

(27) The Tabernacle

 

God said to Moses,

 

"I want Israelites to build me a sacred place

where I can live among them.

You must make this Tabernacle and its furnishings

exactly according to the plans I will show you."

 

God gave each plans for the Ark, Table, Lampstand,

and Tabernacle.

 

God also gave wisdom and knowledge to a few selected people

to do the work.

 

So at last Moses finished the work.

 

Then God's glorious presence came down in cloud,

covering the Tabernacle.

 

Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle and moved,

Israelites would move as well.

But if the clould stayed, they would stay until it moved again.

(26) The calf idol

 

When Moses did not come back down the mountain right away,

the Israelites went to Aaron.

 

Israelites were worreid that the man who brought them

out of Egypt, Moses, disappeared. They wanted to make

their own god that could lead them.

 

So Aaron, Moses' brother, asked the people

to collect all the gold earings and accessories.

Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down,

and molded into the shape of a calf.

 

Israelites loved it.

 

Aaron saw how happy Israelites were and

held a festival for the new god.

 

Then God told Moses in anger.

"Israelites have turned away from me and

have made an idol for themselves, worshiping it."

 

Moses turned and went down the mountain.

Moses saw the calf and the people dancing.

In anger, he threw the stone tablets to the ground.

 and had them repent.

 

 

(25) The 10 Commandments

 

The Israelites arrived in the wilderness of Sinai

2 months after they left Egypt.

 

They camped at the base of Mount Sinai.

Then Moses climbed the mountain to present himself before God.

God called out to him from the mountain and said

 

"Give these instructions to the Israelites.

 

God thundered his commands for all to hear.

 

1. Do not worship any other gods besides me.

2. Do not make idols of any kind.

3. Do not misuse the name of God.

4. Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

5.Honor your father and mother.

6.Do not murder.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Do not steal.

9. Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

10. Do not covet your neighbor's house...

anything your neighbor owns.

 

When Israelites heard the thunder,

they trembled with fear.

so they asked Moses to have God speak to them

through Moses; not directly to them

for they could not bear God's awesome power.

(24) Water from the Rock

 

God commanded Israelites to leave the Sin Desert

and move from place to place.

 

Then they came to Rephidim,

However, there was no water for them to drink.

 

So once again they comlained to Moses

 

"Give us water to drink!"

 

"Why did you bring us out from Egypt?"

 

They argued with Moses and tested God.

 

Then God instructed Moses to strike the rock.

 

Moses struck the rock and water gushed out.

 

 

(23) Manna & Quail from Heaven

 

Israelites arrived at the Sin Desert a month after they left Egypt.

 

Since there were not enough to eat and drink,

people began to speak against Moses.

 

Israelites longed for the days back in Egypt

where they were able to eat full.

 

and their complaints had reached God.

 

Then God told Moses

 

"I am going to rain down food from heaven,

and bring quails so they can have meats too."

 

That evening God brought great numbers of quail over the camp.

 

The next morning the desert all around the camp was covered with Manna.

(think flakes and white like frost)

 

So the Israelites went out and gathered this food from heaven.

 

 

 

 

The Gospel Message

 

 

Hope this comes in handy

when approaching someone who hadn't heard

the gospel.

(22) The Red Sea

 

God harden Pharaoh's heart again

and Pharaoh regretted that he let the Israelites go.

 

Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds

to go after the Israelites and bring them back.

 

As pharaoh and his army approached,

the Israelites saw them in the distance,

coming toward them.

 

People began to panic,

and they cried out to God for help.

They even turned against Moses,

saying

"Why did you bring us out here to die?"

 

But Moses told them, boldly, not to worry 

and see how God rescues them.

 

God instructed Moses to put his staff over the sea.

 

When Moses held his staff over the water,

a strong east wind blew and

the path opened up before them through the sea.

and all the Israelites walked through on dry land.

 

Pharaoh and his army, too, went after the Israelites

through the opened up sea.

 

but before they could make it through the sea,

God instructed Moses to raise his hands to close the sea upon them.

 

The water covered all the entire army of Pharaoh.

 

When the Israelites saw the mighty power that God displayed,

they feared God and put their faith in God

and his servant, their leader, Moses.

 

 

 

(21) The Exodus

 

When Pharaoh let the Israelites go,

 

God lead them around by the desert road

toward the Red Sea even though it was longer

than the other route.

 

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him

for Joseph had made his sons to swear an oath.

 

By day God went ahead of Israelites in a pillar of cloud

to guide them on their way and

by night in a pillar of fire to provide them light,

 

so Israelites could travel by day and night.

 

The pillar of both cloud and fire never left them once.

 

 

 

(20) 10 Plagues in Egypt

 

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said

 

"God says 'Let my people go, so that they may

hold a festival to me in the desert."

 

Pharaoh scoffed at God and Moses.

 

Pharaoh's heart was so stubborn.

He even ordered more workload upon the Israelites.

 

So God sent 10 plagues in Egypt

to let Pharaoh and Israelites to know who is the real

God of the whole world.

 

1. water to blood

2. frogs

3. gnats or lice

4. swarms of flies

5. animals sick, die

6. boils

7.hails

8.locusts

9. darkness

10. death of every firstborn

 

The following morning after 10th plague on the firstborn,

Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron

 

"Leave my people, you and Israelites!

Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.

Take all your flocks and herds as well."

 

Now the length of time the Israelite people

lived in Egypt was 430 years.

 

At the end of the 430 years,

the Israelite people left Egypt.

 

 

(19) God called Moses

 

Moses had met the man named "Jethro" in Midian.

 

Now Jethro had 7 daugthers, and

 he agreed to give one of his dauther "Zipporah"

to Moses as his wife.

Zipporah became pregnant and

gave birth to a son named "Gershom."

 

40 years later,

 

God heard Israelites' crying in Egypt and

he remembered his promise

with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

 

One day, Moses was tending the sheeps

at the mountain called "Horeb."

 

There the angel of God apperaed

to Moses in flame of fire within a bush.

Moses found it strange

because the bush was on fire but it did not burn.

 

 When Moses got close to the bush,

God called him

 

"Moses! Moses!"

 

"I have heard my people crying in Egypt,

Now I am sending you to Pharaoh to free my people

so they can worship me in the land I promised to them."

 

Moses refused to go several times

but God assured him and provided him

with signs and other assists.

 

With God's help,

Moses had returned to Egypt.

 

 

 

(18) Moses flees to Midian

 

After Moses had grown up,

he went out to where his own people(Israelites) were

and saw them working severely hard.

 

Moses saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite.

 

Moses looked around and made sure no one was around,

then he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

 

However, the next day, Pharaoh found out what Moses had done.

He wanted Moses killed.

 

but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to settle in Midian.

 

(17) Moses

 

Hundreds of years later,

a new pharaoh, who did not know Joseph,

worried that Israelites were becoming too great in numbers.

 

so he ordered all the Israelites new born baby boys to be killed

and put Israelites in hard labor.

 

Now there was a new born baby boy in the house of Levi.

 

The baby's parents hid him for 3 months but

baby was getting louder each day.

 

So she placed the baby in the basket and put it among the reeds

along the bank of the Nile.

 

and his sister kept her eyes on the basket.

 

Then pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe.

She noticed the basket and opened it.

She saw the baby and she felt sorry for him.

 

so she kept him in the palace, as her son and

named him Moses, meaning

"I drew him out of the water."

(16) Fulfilled dream

 

Joseph was 30 years of old

when he became the 2nd in charge of the whole country of Egypt.

 

After 7 years of prosperity in crops,

there was a great famine throught out the whole country

and other regions nearby where Israel(Jacob) lived.

 

When Israel heard that there was grain in Egypt,

he sent his sons to exchange grains for what they already had.

 

Now Joseph was the 2nd in charge of the whole country,

so when Joseph's brothers arrived,

they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground;

 

like the dream Joseph had many years ago.

 

Joseph, eventually, made himself known to his brothers.

 

Joseph also asked his brothers to ask their father Israel

to come to Egypt so they can be reunited.

 

Israel and all his offspring went to Egypt.

 

Pharaoh provided them a designated place for them to settle.

 

Israel's family lived there long afterward

and become great in numbers.

 

 

 

(15) Pharaoh's dream

 

God blessed Potiphar's house through Joseph.

God gave Joseph success in everything he did,

his master Potiphar assigned Joseph to be in charge

of everything he owned.

 

One day, Potiphar's wife lied to his husband about Joseph

and Potiphar believed her so he ordered Joseph to be

thrown into the prison.

 

 However, God was still with Joseph.

and gave wisdom and knowledge to Joseph.

 

With the wisdom given from God,

Joseph interpreted people's dream in the prison.

 

The word got into Pharaoh's ears too.

 

Pharaoh summoned Joseph to interpret the dream he had recently

which none of his magicians could intrepret.

 

Joseph, with the widom from God, told Pharaoh

that the country will prosper in crops overwhelmingly for the next 7 years,

and severe famine for the following 7 years.

 

Pharaoh was amazed by Joseph's wisdom and praised God

and appointed Joseph to be the 2nd in charge of the whole country of Egypt.

 

 

 

(14) Joseph in Egypt

 

One day Israel(Jacob) told Joseph to

see and check his brothers in the field

if they are doing alright.

 

Joseph went to the field to see his brothers.

 

When Joseph's brothers saw him from a distance,

they plotted against him to kill him.

 

When Joseph arrived,

instead of killing him,

they stripped him and sold him to the Midianite traders who were heading Egypt.

and Midianites brought Joseph into Egypt.

 

The Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar,

Pharaoh's officer,

the captain of the bodyguard.

 

Meanwhile, Joseph's brothers lied to his father Israel

that they found Joseph's robe in the field with blood on it.

When Israel(Jacob) heard that

his favorite son Joseph was killed by animals.

 

He tore his clothes and wept for many days.

 

 

 

 

(13) Joseph's dream

 

One day Joseph had a dream,

 

"Please, listen to my dream I had today!

we were binding sheaves in the field, and

my sheaf rose up and stood and

your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf."

 

Joseph's brothers hated him more after Joseph had shared the dream with them.

 

Next day, Joseph had another dream,

 

"I had another dream today!

the sun, and the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me."

 

When Israel(Jacob) heard this he silenced Joseph from sharing his dream anymore.

but Israel kept Joseph's dream in his mind.

 

 

(12) Jacob's sons

 

Jacob came back to his home land(Canaan) with his 11 sons.

and had another son named "Benjamin."

 

Out of his 11 sons, Jacob loved Joseph the most

because he was Rachel's child and

Joseph was so much yougner than the other 10 brothers.

 

and Jacob's love for Joseph

caused other big brothers to hate Joseph.

 

 

(11) Jacob's new name

 

Jacob lived 20 years with his uncle.

 

At the end of the 20 years,

God told Jacob to return to his home land.

 

But Jacob still feared his brother Esau.

 

Jacob prayed to God that Esau might not kill him.

 

Jacob prayed so hard that when he saw the man of God,

Jacob grabbed him and wrestled with him

until the man of God blessed him.

 

and Jacob won.

 

God gave Jacob a new name "Israel."

because Jacob had wrestled with God and men and had won.

 

With God's blessing,

Jacob reunited with his brother Esau.

 

 

 

 

(10) Rachel & Leah

 

 

Laban, Jacob's uncle had 2 daughters, Leah and Rachel.

 

When Jacob saw Rachel,

he immediately fell in love for Rachel.

 

Laban asked Jacob to work 7 years for him

in exchange for Rachel.

 

After 7 years of work

Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Rachel's sister Leah.

 

Jacob was offered to work 7 more years

to marry Rachel.

 

Jacob fulfilled another 7 years of work

and married Rachel.

 

Leah was hurt by 

Jacob's undivided love for Rachel.